The 2006 Chardonnay Tiglat – harvested late in October, a week after the corresponding Darscho, and vinified in barrique – displays similarly impressive creaminess; smells of cherry blossom, diverse hedge flowers, almond, and salt spray; saturates the palate with low-toned, toasted nuttiness and ripe apricot richness, accented by citrus zest, peach kernel bitterness; and finishes long on vividly saline and chalky mineral suggestions and with a remarkable sense of lift and even delicacy. Plan to follow this for up to 3-4 years. Heinz Velich (whose brother and former partner is the force behind the wines of Moric, about which see elsewhere in this report) produces Austria’s most distinguished Chardonnay (from vines his father planted believing they were Pinot Blanc) as well as some of the country’s finest nobly sweet wines. His wines are marked among other things by long stays in barrel and low-sulfur, resulting in a style Velich considers but closer to tradition and (especially when it comes to nobly sweet elixirs) more interesting from a culinary standpoint than the more reductive approach favored by most of his fellow Neusiedlersee vintners.Importer: Winemonger, Los Angeles, CA; www.winemonger.com